Filter tile



June 1939- M. CHRISTIE ET AL 2,161,999

FILTER TILE Filed March 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

June 13, 1939. I L.' M "CHRI STIE ET AL 2,161,999

FI'LTER TILE Filed March 25, 1935 2 S-heets-Shet 2 FIG 6 5FIG. 7'

INVENTORS.

BY mg ATTORNEY.

Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES FILTER TILE Llewellyn M. Christie,

Edward F. Wanner, and

Arthur S. Brewer, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to National FireproofingCorporation, Pittsburgh,

Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 23, 1935, SerialNo. 12,698

2 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in filter blocks,and it is among the objects thereof to provide a tile structure havingan integrally formed drain trough and supporting grid structure adaptedfor use With hollow spacer blocks to form a trickling filter bed,

The conventional trickling filter floor construction consists of troughblocks and grid blocks built up to form a drain and supporting structurefor a bed of coarse material such as gravel, broken stones or the like,and in this form the supporting concrete bed on which the filter fiooris constructed usually forms a portion of the drain troughs.

In accordance with the present invention, the tile is constructed tohave the drain troughs formed therein, thus facilitating the assembly ofthe tile or blocks and providing a smooth glazed surface for the passageof the sewage effluentto obtain a more or less self-cleaning effect,Such a structure is readily kept open by flushing, and there are nocrevices or joints in which substances may accumulate and finally clogup the flow passage.

The nature and contruction of the invention will be more apparent from adescription of the accompanying drawings constituting a part hereof inwhich like reference characters designate like parts and in which:

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are a front and side elevation, and top plan view,respectively, of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 4 a View in perspective of a fragmentary portion of spacer block;

Fig, 5 a view in perspective of the filter and spacer blocks of Figs. 1to 4 when assembled;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are front and side elevations, and a plan view,respectively, of a modified form of filter block;

Fig. 9 a view in perspective of the blocks of Figs. 6 to 8 assembledwith the spacer blocks of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 10 a view in perspective of a modified form of filter block.

Referring to Fig. 5 of the drawings, numeral l designates a concretefoundation which is of sloping construction for supporting filter blocks2 and spacer blocks 3. The latter may be omitted and concrete poured inthe space between adja 50 cent filter blocks. The blocks 2 are providedwith drain troughs 4 in spaced relation and intervening spaces 5 toreduce the weight of the blocks. Blocks 2 have a plain face at thebottom and are recessed at 6 on the top a sufiicient distance 55 to cutaway the neck-like recesses l at the top of the drain troughs 4 to formslots 8 in parallel relation which constitute the supporting grid forcoarse filter materials such as stone, gravel, clinkers or the like.

This construction affords maximum fiow passage for the efiluent coupledwith maximum strength of the solid vertical webs 9 and extreme lightnessfor handling and shipping. The spacer block 3 is likewise provided withhollow chambers ID to lighten the block and has a chamfered uppersurface H for diverting the flow on each side towards the filter blocks,the bottom edge l2 of the chamfered faces being of substantially thesame height as the recess 6 or slightly higher to cause drainage of thefluid to the recess 6, thence through slots 8 to the drain troughs 4.The spacer blocks 3 maintain proper alinement of the filter blocks andprevent their displacement.

In the construction shown in Figs, 6 to 9 inclusive, a plurality oflarge parallel drain troughs l3 are provided with heavy webs I4, theblocks being of elongated shape and provided with transverse parallelslots I5 forming the grid structure, the bottoms l6 of the slots beingslightly below the upper wall I! of the troughs l3 to form slottedopenings l8 for the passage of the eflluent through the top of the blockto drain troughs I3. The drain trough has a curved bottom wall l9 toaccelerate the flow of the drainage fluid. When assembled in the mannershown in Fig. 9, the grid slots l5 are transversely disposed relative tothe flow troughs l3 while in the blocks of Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive thegrid slots 8 are parallel with the fiow troughs 4. Spacer blocks 3 areemployed between the filter blocks 2 in the same manner as in thestructure of Fig. 5 although, as before stated, the filter blocks may beassembled as shown and concrete poured between the assembled rows.

In the construction shown in Fig. 10, a tile of the form of the spacerblock 3 of Figures 4, 5 and 9 may be employed as a filter block bycutting transverse slots 2| across the sloping top as shown. Such ablock is inexpensive to fabricate and by the employment of a central web'22 is strong in compression to withstand the weight of a filter bed. Itis also apparent that any of the filter blocks with the slots may beassembled without spacer blocks or other intervening spacing materials,

It is evident from the foregoing description of the invention thatfilter tile or blocks made in accordance therewith and assembled withspacer tile furnish a large drainage surface and a strong supportinggrid for the filter bed. The blocks are of structural formin'cross-section and provide 7 maximum strength" combined with minimum Vthe details of construction without departing weighta'nd the blocks 0!Figs. 1 to 5 are especially easy to manufacture as it merely requiresthe cuttingaway of the top recess after the blocks are" extruded from adie to form the grid w k. Y

7 Although several embodiments of the invention have been hereinillustrated and described,

it is apparent that modifications may be made in from' the principlesherein set forth,

sis

We claim: 7 a i 1. A trickling filter floor comprising rows'of hollowfilter blocks in end to end relation each having a plurality ofpartition walls dividing the" hollow blocks into parallel drain" troughsextending longitudinally of the' blocks and rows to provideuninterrupted flow passages through successive blocks, the top of theblocks having horizontal walls provided with slots transversely of thedrain troughs and extending below the top" wall of the partition wallsto forma grid structure to support a filtering bed thereon.

2. A trickling filter floor comprising rows'of hollow filter bloeks inend-to-end relation, each block having a plurality of partition wallsdividing their hollow interiors into paralleldrainjtroughs which arerounded at the bottom and horizontal at the top and extendinglongitudinally of the;

blocks and rows to provideuninterrupted flow passages through successiveblocks, the top wall of the blocks being provided with slots extendingtransversely of the drain troughs and below the top'of the partitionswalls to form a grid'structure 1 to support'a filtering bed thereon.

' LLEIWEILYN M. CHRISTI EDWARD F. WANNER. AR'I'HUR s, BREWER.- r

